There are no takers for the ‘Guest doctors scheme’ launched last year by the medical health and family welfare department amid much fanfare as not even a single doctor has registered himself for the scheme till date.
The scheme intended to provide medical services in mountainous areas of the State by offering attractive remuneration to the medical practitioners visiting the State.
The department launched the scheme in the month of October last year in which the specialist doctors from all parts of the country were invited to serve for some days in the State. The response of the scheme is so poor that the department was not able to rope in even a single doctor for it. The Additional Director Dr KD Sharma confirmed that no doctor could be enrolled under the scheme till date.
The senior officers of the department questioned the propriety of the scheme as the doctors who visit the State on personal tour would be least interested to serve patients.
"I wonder how any specialist would serve patients when he is with his family on holidayIJ" questioned one of the officers.
The medical, health and family welfare department of the State is facing an acute shortage of medical officers and specialist doctors. The data suggests that out of 126 sanctioned posts of Surgeons, 84 are lying vacant; similarly 99 posts of physicians, 57 posts of orthopedic surgeons, 98 posts of radiologists, 86 posts of pathologists, 110 posts of gynecologists, 37 posts of cardiologists and 30 posts of dermatologists are lying vacant in State health services.
The beleaguered department initiated measures like inviting private hospitals and guest doctor scheme to infuse some life in defunct medical services in the mountainous areas of the State. But in absence of proper publicity, most of these schemes have failed miserably.
Under the guest doctor scheme, the specialist doctors were to be requested to visit the State at least for a period of two weeks during which they have serve for four days in a week at designated health care centre. The department would have to bore the cost of travelling, boarding and lodging of these doctors in addition to a handsome remuneration depending on the number of days of their service.